SageHill
Herd Master
Well, now sure if that's a good title for this thread or not.
I graze my sheep old style - moving them down roads with a dog who then becomes a living fence for the area to graze. Sheep choose to eat plants at certain times in the lifecycle of the plant - I've learned that just recently in my reading. I've found over the years that they will something for awhile and then move on to something else. Like eating at a smorgasbord. The first years of doing this my intention was to have them graze down areas kind of like a lawn mower
Well - they are definitely not lawn mowers. They seemingly are picky eaters. At least that's what I thought. They'd graze for awhile, then just stand there and look at me like -'well, we're done here, what's the next course?'. Begrudgingly I'd move them to another area and they'd just stand there with the look. We'd keep moving until they'd all put their heads down and graze again. We'd repeat that day after day.
If I left things to their own way - sheep and dog - they'd keep grazing. The first years I would set it up and then work about in the same area. After awhile the dog would move the sheep a bit, and the graze would continue while I worked cutting back trees, picking up ancient boards from a long ago avocado grove and other various debris.
Enter the new phone that will identify plants that I take photos of. Cool - Of course the identification of the plants is not always accurate - but it's a start. If I identify a plant incorrectly and you know for certain what it is - let me know!
Now years later I've touched base with a friend who put me on to some great books that she has found immensely helpful. Enter the book The Art and Science of Shepherding - Tapping The Wisdom of French Herders by Michel Meuret & Fred Provenza. I am hooked. Furthermore, what I found in the first years is exactly what is in this book. A quick quote - "To set up the "first course" of a meal, a "booster phase" of ten to twenty minutes may be just right, while thirty to forty minutes may be too long". I just about screamed YES when I read that. The timing is exactly what I observed with the sheep and with my dog. ME - I wanted them parked and eating for an hour - never happened. Dog and sheep - they knew what was best. Damn! There are so many things like that in the book. I'm glad that I learned to let them be, it works. Now I know why! My dogs are not your typical herding style dogs, they are European. Actually all of them are from Belgium (next door neighbor to France). And while they are not specifically from herding lines, they are a rare breed whose instincts have not been diluted with the dog show world vision of what they should be. At least not yet. As unintentional as that choice was, it worked. The world works in mysterious ways I guess. I'm blessed to have them.
So this thread is me trying to keep track of what they are eating. Maybe not the why (yet), but it's a start to document so I don't forget. Of course I've got more reading to do, more grazing to do and watch, and this will either be a passing thing, or I hope to be something that evolves into useful information.
Maybe this is Mr Toad's Wild Ride on the Graze who knows!
EDIT TO ADD - if anyone wants a better picture of any of the plants I'll be happy to get them.
EDIT TO ADD LIST OF PLANTS in the order they are posted.....
..RED=Bad GREEN=Good ORANGE=not great not horrid BLACK=unknown
Telegraph Weed - Heterotheca grandiflora
Spotted Spurge - Euphorbia maculata -
Thorn-Apple, Jimsonweed Devil's Trumpet, Moon Flower - Datura stramonium - vespertine
Castor Bean, castor oil - Ricinus communis
Wild Mustard - Brassica nigra - Brassica tournefortii
Horseweed - Erigeron canadensis, Erigeron sumatrensis
California Buckwheat - Eriogonum fasciculatum
Tumble Weed, Russian Thistle, Salsola tragus
Sugar bush - sugar sumac - Rhus ovata
Wild Radish - Raphanus sativus
Stinkwort - Dittrichia graveolens
Tanglehead - Heteropogon contortus
Jerusalem Oak Goosefoot - Dysphania botrys
Stork's Bill, Redstem Filaree, or Pinweed - Erodium cicutarium
Woody Crinklemat, doveweed - Tiquilia canescens
San Diego County Sunflower, Tornleaf Goldeneye - Bahiopsis laciniata
I graze my sheep old style - moving them down roads with a dog who then becomes a living fence for the area to graze. Sheep choose to eat plants at certain times in the lifecycle of the plant - I've learned that just recently in my reading. I've found over the years that they will something for awhile and then move on to something else. Like eating at a smorgasbord. The first years of doing this my intention was to have them graze down areas kind of like a lawn mower
Well - they are definitely not lawn mowers. They seemingly are picky eaters. At least that's what I thought. They'd graze for awhile, then just stand there and look at me like -'well, we're done here, what's the next course?'. Begrudgingly I'd move them to another area and they'd just stand there with the look. We'd keep moving until they'd all put their heads down and graze again. We'd repeat that day after day.If I left things to their own way - sheep and dog - they'd keep grazing. The first years I would set it up and then work about in the same area. After awhile the dog would move the sheep a bit, and the graze would continue while I worked cutting back trees, picking up ancient boards from a long ago avocado grove and other various debris.
Enter the new phone that will identify plants that I take photos of. Cool - Of course the identification of the plants is not always accurate - but it's a start. If I identify a plant incorrectly and you know for certain what it is - let me know!
Now years later I've touched base with a friend who put me on to some great books that she has found immensely helpful. Enter the book The Art and Science of Shepherding - Tapping The Wisdom of French Herders by Michel Meuret & Fred Provenza. I am hooked. Furthermore, what I found in the first years is exactly what is in this book. A quick quote - "To set up the "first course" of a meal, a "booster phase" of ten to twenty minutes may be just right, while thirty to forty minutes may be too long". I just about screamed YES when I read that. The timing is exactly what I observed with the sheep and with my dog. ME - I wanted them parked and eating for an hour - never happened. Dog and sheep - they knew what was best. Damn! There are so many things like that in the book. I'm glad that I learned to let them be, it works. Now I know why! My dogs are not your typical herding style dogs, they are European. Actually all of them are from Belgium (next door neighbor to France). And while they are not specifically from herding lines, they are a rare breed whose instincts have not been diluted with the dog show world vision of what they should be. At least not yet. As unintentional as that choice was, it worked. The world works in mysterious ways I guess. I'm blessed to have them.
So this thread is me trying to keep track of what they are eating. Maybe not the why (yet), but it's a start to document so I don't forget. Of course I've got more reading to do, more grazing to do and watch, and this will either be a passing thing, or I hope to be something that evolves into useful information.
Maybe this is Mr Toad's Wild Ride on the Graze
who knows!EDIT TO ADD - if anyone wants a better picture of any of the plants I'll be happy to get them.
EDIT TO ADD LIST OF PLANTS in the order they are posted.....
..RED=Bad GREEN=Good ORANGE=not great not horrid BLACK=unknown
Telegraph Weed - Heterotheca grandiflora
Spotted Spurge - Euphorbia maculata -
Thorn-Apple, Jimsonweed Devil's Trumpet, Moon Flower - Datura stramonium - vespertine
Castor Bean, castor oil - Ricinus communis
Wild Mustard - Brassica nigra - Brassica tournefortii
Horseweed - Erigeron canadensis, Erigeron sumatrensis
California Buckwheat - Eriogonum fasciculatum
Tumble Weed, Russian Thistle, Salsola tragus
Sugar bush - sugar sumac - Rhus ovata
Wild Radish - Raphanus sativus
Stinkwort - Dittrichia graveolens
Tanglehead - Heteropogon contortus
Jerusalem Oak Goosefoot - Dysphania botrys
Stork's Bill, Redstem Filaree, or Pinweed - Erodium cicutarium
Woody Crinklemat, doveweed - Tiquilia canescens
San Diego County Sunflower, Tornleaf Goldeneye - Bahiopsis laciniata
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